Exhaust valve for torpedo exercise head



Dec. 10, 1946.

M. G. LEONARD EXHAUST VALVE FOR TORPEDO EXERCISE HEAD Filed Aug. 5, 1944lNVENTOR 4/9/07/6160/70/d WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 10, 1946 EXHAUST VALVE FOR TOR'PEDO EXERCISE HEADApplication August 5, 1944, Serial 'No. 548,277

4 Claims. (01. 11420) My invention relates to torpedoes and moreparticularly to blow-off valves for the exercise heads of torpedoes orany other tank or other normally closed chamber requiring a blow-01fvalve for the medium contained therein under pressure.

The Government of the United States has been granted a certainroyalty-free license for governmental purposes with respect to theinvention herein described,

Torpedoes when given an exercise run are provided with an exercise head.This exercise head is empty when in storage but just before a torpedomakes it exercise run, water, but preferably some solution for effectingproper balance is admitted to the exercise head. The amount of water, orother balancing liquid, placed in the exercise head is so chosen thatthe entire exercise head is substantially equal in weight to the warhead for the torpedo.

Not to lose the torpedo at the end of an exerciSe run, means have to beprovided for blowing the balancing liquid from the exercise head.

One object of my invention is the provision of valve means and a sourceof gas pressure that permits air or some other gas, as carbon dioxide,from the source of pressure to drive the balancing liquid out of theexercise head but does not permit entry of any sea water to the exercisehead.

Another object of my invention is the provision of special check valvemeans for the exercise head of a torpedo.

Another object of my invention is the provision of effective blow-oilmeans for torpedoes that are not affected by any of the usual positionsa torpedo may take at the end of its run with reference to the earthscenter of gravity.

A still further object of my invention is th provision of speed andpressure responsive blow-oi. means for torpedoes.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study ofthe following specification and claims and the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure l is a somewhat schematic longitudinal sectional View of atorpedo exercise head provided with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view, with the upper part broken away, of a towing eyeand valve shown in Figs. 1 and 3; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of my special blowoff valve and towing eyecombination, the section being taken on section line IIIIII of Fig, 2.

A torpedo normally, because of its design, does not have a greattendency to roll about its longitudinal axis,v but at the instant theblow-oil starts the initial air or other gas entering the exercise headmay take such a position in the exercise head that the torpedo turnsover on its back, or takes a nose up position. To prevent the loss ofliquid expelling gas, I provide the construction shown generally in Fig.1 and more in detail in Figs. 2 and 3.

The towing eye includes the base 3'! welded or otherwise secured in aliquid tight manner to the exercise head 3|. The base is provided withthe nipple 32 having the flange 33, the valve seat 34 and the tubereceiving projection 35. V

A valve 36 having the rubber seal 38 is firmly held against the seat 34by spring 39 and is guided to its proper position by guide stem 40fitting into the projection 4| of the towing eye 42.

.The towing eye 42 is provided with the openings 33 for discharging thewater from the practice head. The towing eye is held to the base bybolts 44 and. the base and nippl are secured to each other by screws 45.A suitable gasket 46 provides a liquid tight connection between nippleand base.

By means of a flexible connection 48, I connect the tube 49 to theprojection 35. The tube 49 is provided with a weight 50 at its open end5|. Regardless of any tilting or rolling of the torpedo, the Weight 50will always position the opening 5| at the lowest point. When the depthresponsive device or the speed responsive device, not shown, or both,operate, the gas enters the exercise head at 52 and the pressure in thehead compresses spring 39 and the liquid in the head is forced into theopen end BI and through the valve and out of the openings 43.

I do not wish to be limited to the particular showing and disclosuremade but wish to be limited only by the claims hereto appended.

I claim as my invention:

1. In mechanisms for discharging the torpedo balancing liquid, in theexercise head of a torpedo from the exercise head at the end of anexercise run to make the torpedo buoyant, in combination, a cylindricalmember having an outer end hermetically sealed to the inner surface ofthe nose of a head directly adjacent to an opening in the nose of thehead, said cylindrical member havinga re-entrant portion at its innerend designed as an annular valve seat, a valve plate disposed to rest onthe valve seat, a towing eye for the head designed as a spider rigidlysecured to the nose of the head over the opening in the nose, and springmeans, under selected compression disposed between the spider-liketowing eye and the valve 3 for holding the valve on the seat with apredetermined force.

2. In mechanism for discharging the torpedo balancing liquid, in theexercise head of a torpedo from the exercise head at the end of anexercise run to make the torpedo buoyant, in combination, a cylindricalmember having an outer end hermetically sealed to the inner surface ofthe nose of a head directly adjacent to an opening in the nose of thehead, said cylindrical member having a re-entrant portion at its innerend designed as an annular valve seat, a valve plate disposed to rest onthe valve seat, a towin eye for the head designed as a spider rigidlysecured to the nose of the head over the opening in the nose, springmeans, under selected compression disposed between the spider-liketowing eye and the valve for holding the valve on the seat with apredetermined force, and guide means on the valve and towing eye formaintaining the spring means in correct position with reference to thevalve, valve seat, and towing eye.

3. In mechanisms for discharging the torpedo balancin liquid, in theexercise head of a torpedo from the exercise head at the end of anexercise run to make the torpedo buoyant, in combination, a cylindricalmember having an outer end hermetically sealed to the inner surface ofthe nose of a head directly adjacent to an opening in the nose of thehead, said cylindrical member having a re-entrant portion at its innerend designed as an annular valve seat, a valve plate disposed to rest onthe valve seat, a towing eye for the head designed as a spider rigidlysecured to the nose of the head over the opening in the nose, springmeans, under selected compression disposed between the spiderlike towingeye and the valve for holding the valve on the seat wtih a predeterminedforce, and a weighted flexible tube connected to the inner end of thecylindrical member for at all times collecting the liquid within thehead, when subjected to pressure for expelling it, from the lowermostregion of the head.

4. In mechanisms for discharging the torpedo balancing liquid, in theexercise head of a torpedo from the exercise head at the end of anexercise run to make the torpedo buoyant, in combination, a cylindricalmember having an outer end hermetically sealed to the inner surface ofthe nose of a head directly adjacent to an opening in the nose of thehead, said cylindrical member having a re-entrant portion at its innerend designed as an annular valve seat, a valve plate disposed to rest onthe valve seat, a towing eye for the head designed as a spider rigidlysecured to the nose of the head over the opening in the nose, and springmeans, under selected compression disposed between the spider-liketowing eye and the valve for holding the valve on the seat with apredetermined force, guide means on the valve and towing eye formaintaining the spring means in correct position with reference to thevalve, valve seat and towing eye, and a weighted flexible tube connectedto the inner end of the cylindrical member for at all times collectingthe liquid within the head, when subjected to pressure for expelling it,from the lowermost region of the head.

MERRILL G. LEONARD.

